Holy crap it's been a while, but not by my choice. School is a bitch as they say and she likes to pile things on. I'm trying to find time to write anything, but I decided on this one, because it's been the longest wait.

I hope you like it, and I REALLY hope I can't update it sooner next time.

The world returned at first, as a droning in my ears. As I slowly rejoined the world, however, it became a pounding in my head. I was on my side, sprawl on…what was this? The memories of what had come before the car ride rushed back and fear settled in its appropriate place.

There was no light in this place. That or I was blind. The former was more agreeable, and I pushed the other back into my head. On top of everything, I couldn't handle losing my sight. Careful to make as little noise as possible, I spread out my fingers to feel the surface beneath me.

Course, hard, it felt like concrete. I was on a floor. Stretching out my other hand I found a wall, and moved to sit against it. Pain like fire shot down my leg, and I went still again a moment to breath. After a few moments of prodding, I found that my hip and upper thigh was bruised, all perfectly aligned with the position I'd woken in.

Floor, plus huge new bruise equaled the Joker being an asshole. He'd dropped me on the floor when he put me in here. Assuming it was him at all, but the thought of some faceless thug carrying me around made my skin crawl.

It took a few minutes, but I managed to work my leg enough that I could crawl over to the wall. A few more and I could stand. Where the hell was I? How long had I been unconscious? I'd seen patients burn through the sedatives in only a few hours, but their immune systems where so used to chemicals that it was like cheating. This wasn't the military; shrinks didn't get dosed with their own chemicals before they could administer them to the patients. I had no idea how long it would have put me under.

Now that panic was added to my emotional cocktail, I tried to focus on finding a door, or window. Something I could get out of. My path was slow, inching my way along the wall and stretching out my hand to feel for obstacles. I nearly ran into what felt like a small table, pushed up against the wall. My fingers scattered whatever had been thrown on it.

The clattering was thunderous. What sounded like metal and a dozen small things tumbled to the floor, echoing around the room. My heart, already pounding with my head, jumped to painful new levels. Someone had to have heard that. Which meant I would have company soon. I quickly dropped to the floor, patting around for the fallen objects, hoping for a weapon. Something cold a thin rolled against my fingers. At its opposite end was a handle. Whatever it was, it had a point and a good grip, so I stuck it in the pocket of my lab coat, which I was thankfully still wearing.

There were heavy footsteps outside, awkward, oddly paced. I don't know why I recognized the sound of his walk, but I knew without a doubt that it was the Joker. He was coming from the direction I'd been headed, so I began to backtrack. At first I was still on the floor, crawling away in panic, but the sound of a deadbolt turning got me back on my feet.

The light from the hall at first was blinding and made my head scream in protest. I dropped my face into my palm with a hiss, before the lights had been turned on in here as well. I still listened though, as those funny footsteps came to a stop and the door was closed again. It hadn't seen outside, it irritated me that I was no closer to know where I was.

"What's up, Doc?" He sounded far too cheerful. Pain, confusion, and fear made my response a little snippy.

"Is this really the time for Bugs Bunny?"

He chuckled, moving closer while I rubbed my eyes and tried not to seem terrified. "It's a classic. I can't myself."

"I've noticed." I snapped, finally dropping my hand. It was hard to see at first, but slowly the room became a solid place again, despite my head.

"Got a bit of a headache there, Harley?" I blinked, trying to see him completely, but the drug seemed to be hanging on to me like a thick fog. Purple, he was in purple. "It's just the sedative, won't last long." He grinned smugly, "Not so fun on this side, is it?"

"I never drugged you." I protested, not really knowing what else to say. I'd never seen him in person with his suit, and frankly it was making all of this a little too real. All hope that this was a nightmare, sadly, vanished.

He wasn't in the overcoat, only the pinstriped suit beneath it, and he'd forgone his infamous gloves. It was impossible not to stare. The suit wasn't some crappy thrift store find either; it was tailored specifically for him. (Which opened a whole new line of questions, the first being who in the hell would tailor for the Joker?) He took pride in his appearance, though not in the same way as most. It was something, though, and I tucked it away for use later.

The Joker continued to watch me, and the silence had stretched on for far too long. I began to feel small, and cornered under his black gaze. I needed some place to sit down before I fell over. He didn't seem to be armed, though I didn't know what was in the paper bag in his hand, but I turned around to search for a surface…

And found a bed.

For a moment, I could only stare at it, then at him and I clenched my fists, moving toward it a sitting down to put more distance between us. Unfortunatly, he followed slowly behind. Still watching. Still smiling like he had a secret.

"I woke up on the floor." My tone was more acidic than I'd meant, but I couldn't help it. "There was a bed three feet away! You couldn't make the extra effort to throw me down on it instead?"

He raised both brows, giving a melodramatic, scandaled gasp, "I couldn't have you sleep in my bed, we barely know one another. What would people think?"

"You seem to think you're funny." I replied, drawing my knees up to my chest before I realized it was a clear sign that I was frightened. If I put them back down, however, it would have been more obvious, so I fixed my face with a scowl. It was hard to portray disgruntled, when I was so incredibly terrified. I didn't like him this close to me outside of shackles.

Suddenly he knelt down on the bed, close enough that I pressed back into the headboard to keep the distance. It was useless, however, as he simply moved closer.

"Are ya hungry?" He surprised me by presenting a paper box of fried rice and a plastic fork from his looked fresh enough, colored pink with what I assumed, and hoped, was sweet-and-sour sauce, something I loved. My stomach growled in response to even the thought of food, and I snatched up the box without hesitation. If he was offering, I should eat while I could. Who knew what awaited me in this place, locked in with him. Who knew if he would even feed me again. I'd just scooped up the first bite and held it at my lips, when I realized he had yet to look away.

I set down the box and placed the spoon into the container with a frown. "Is it poisoned?"

The Joker laughed at that, short and loud, but shook his head. "Now, what would be the purpose of that? After I went through allll that trouble to get you here."

"You didn't answer my question." I said, watching him closely. He was right, it wouldn't make sense, but when had the Joker ever made sense?

Giving me an undecipherable look, he grabbed my fork and scooped up a large bite, chewing frantically and then smiling, despite his full mouth.

"Satisfied?" he asked. I shrugged, looking down.

"I suppose."

I watched him scoop another bite, not caring that rice was tumbling all over the mattress, and held it up to me.

"Choo choo." He mimicked a train as if I were a child and grinned, "Open uh-uup."

I scowled at him, keeping my lips tightly closed, but he only rolled his eyes.

"Ah, come on, Harley-girl. Daddy's helping."

I went very still, glancing between him and the spoon. He didn't pull it away, and his eyes seemed to sharpen the longer he starred at me. It was obvious he wouldn't give up, and I wasn't really in a position to refuse. We stared at one another a long time, until finally I opened my mouth and he slid the fork inside. Silently, I prayed he didn't force the utensil down my throat, or break it off in something or…oh god brain, just stop with the visuals…only he didn't do any of those things.

He watched me chew, watched me swallow, and met my eyes when I was done with a small, derisive smile. I turned away, feeling more than a little uncomfortable with the whole situation, and hating him for doing it on purpose. He was playing with me, the bastard. Was this what I had to look forward to in my future, serving as plaything for this psychotic? A shock of dread went through me. What if there was no future? What if I was already on borrowed time?

The Joker stuck the fork back into the rice, but didn't try to feed me again, which I was grateful for since my face was already burning, and must have been embarrassingly red. The clown pushed the box into my hand, closing my fingers around it and motioned that I continue eating, again making it obvious that it wasn't much of a choice. He continued to watch me as I ate; his eyes took in everything, until I lost my appetite under his scrutiny, and set the box down on the cement brick that served as a side table.

"You're so tense." His voice was softer than normal. It sent a shiver down my spine as he moved closer to me on the mattress, titling his head as if to study me, and as always, there was that tiny beginning of a smile. I focused on his voice however. It was wrong, too calm and…amiable? My body was screaming danger.

"Are you telling me I shouldn't be?" I asked, trying my damnedest to keep my voice level with him so very close, in this place where I was completely at his mercy. This time, if he decided to strangle me, there would be no orderlies with sedatives standing by. No panic button to signal the POs to come save me, no cameras. It was just us, and he knew that I was frightened. He was enjoying it.

"I think you should take a deep breath. Let your..ahem, hair down, as it were."

"Sure," I laughed a little hysterically, "Why don't I just make myself comfortable?"

With that his hand whipped out to tangle in my loose bun, too quick for me to retaliate in time. I managed to cry out, but it was strangled by fear, hardly a cry at all. And who was listening anyway? Where the henchmen outside going to rush to my aid if I started screaming?

Not likely.

The Joker was smirking at my obvious panic, and pulled me closer. Like a predator sensing a weakness, he just went for it. My breath caught in my throat as he dragged me across the mattress and inches from him. So close I could feel the abnormal heat that radiated from his skin.

Running hot…always running hot.

The thought slipped away as he yanked the clip from my hair, ripping out a few strands along the way, and tossing it onto the floor.

"You know," he said softly, inspecting the change, "I've never seen you with your hair down, Doc. I like it."

"W..what are you doing?" I managed to ask, though my voice was childishly soft and light from my fear.

I cleared my throat and tried gently to pull away, testing my boundaries, but he held firm, tighter even. He was looking at me in a way that made my face flame, and fear twist angry knots in my gut. Too close, too intimate. He slid his hand down to my jaw, lifting my face so he could see it closer. His warm fingers traced slowly up to my ear, following the trail they took with his dark eyes. Like two black suns, and they burned my skin as they moved. With his other hand firmly fixed in my hair, I couldn't pull away as he feathered the touch over to my lips. Completely at a loss, I remained rigidly still and simply stared at him with wide eyes.

"You've got something here." He murmured, after what seemed hours, wiping the corner of my mouth and releasing me. He sat back on his knee, still kneeling, and smiled. "Got it."

Something told me he wasn't talking about the tiny smudge of sweet-and-sour on his finger. He wiped it off on the mattress then moved back to his feet looking around the cluttered room, completely absorbed in his next task. I was still frozen in place, heart racing so fast it made my head spin, exciting my headache.

I watched him sift through papers on the makeshift desk a moment, trying to breath normally again, and wondering what exactly he was playing at. Why the hell had he brought me here. Briefly the thought of rape crossed my mind, before I stuffed it back down. The Joker had never done such things, at least as far as we knew. However, I was well aware that he was unpredictable, and judging by what had just happened, I couldn't shake the nagging fear.

Suddenly I was regretting my entire wardrobe. I was a confident girl, yes, but why did I have to express that through my clothing? More importantly, why had I chosen this stupid business skirt, and why was my shirt so tight? I hurriedly pulled my lab coat tighter around myself, but it didn't do much good.

While I silently berated myself, the Joker had moved across the room. I looked up at the sound of the door and found him watching me expectantly.

"Are you just going to sit there all night? Come on Doc, don't you wanna see the rest of the place?" He leaned against the doorjamb, crossing his ankles and grinned wickedly. "I mean, aren't you curious? Lucky girl, how many of my doctors have seen the place I work in?"

"How many of them have you kidnapped?"

The Joker chuckled, pushing off the door to cross the room back to me. On instinct, I moved away, hitting the wall and making a soft noise of panic.

Seeing this, the Joker laughed softly and shook his head. "Geez, Doc. Lighten up would ya? It's like you don't trust me or something?"

His hand whipped out, snatching up my wrist, and yanking me up off the bed. I stumbled into his arms with a strangled yelp, then clamped my mouth shut in fear that it would excite him. Eyes once again bright with that frightening intensity, he tilted his head.

"It's almost as if you think I'm going to hurt you."

My arms were trapped between us, bent up against his chest, but I was too scared to attempt pulling away. Instead I swallowed, doing my best to hold his gaze.

"Are you?"

My voice was pathetically soft, but there was no hope of pretending I wasn't terrified now. He stared down at me a long moment with a smile that made my blood run cold, but then stepped back. He turned to the door and began pulling me after him at a quick pace, his fingers around my wrist so tight that I was sure it would bruise.

"Come on, I know you're curious, Doc. Why wouldn't you be?"

I stumbled after him, breathlessly, unable to respond. I hadn't missed however, that he didn't answer my question.

Xx